


Sisters are the worst

by serenitysolstice



Category: Gentleman Jack (TV)
Genre: F/F, Thanks for the idea, This is for you Isla, though it was poorly exectued
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 11:55:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19745248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenitysolstice/pseuds/serenitysolstice
Summary: The Lister Sisters and Ann are on their way to Brighton. Ann decides she hates being in a confined space with the two women.





	Sisters are the worst

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BecomingIsla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BecomingIsla/gifts).



She hated them. That wasn't strictly true, Ann actually loved both women dearly, though obviously in very different ways. Since her move into Shibden several months ago, she and Anne seemed to have settled into a routine of sorts. Anne was still far busier than Ann, what with an estate to run, tenants to keep an eye on, and a coal pit to watch closely. Ann often went with her wife to some of her appointments, as the chief investor of Anne's day to day living. And that was fine with her, in Anne she'd found a friend, a lover and a wife, and after nearly a decade of loneliness she had everything she could have asked for. Still, when her casual suggestion to Marian that perhaps they should take a trip, the three of them, what with Aunt Anne on the mend for the moment, was taken to heart, and not a week later they were off to Brighton. The three of them. In a carriage for three days straight.   
  
She hated them.  
  
The bickering had begun at Huddersfield, just over an hour on the road..

"Well of course it's going to rain, Marian! Have you ever seen such dark clouds? We're lucky that it hasn't already started, we shall have to stop near Sheffield, I should think."

"What do you mean? The only dark clouds I see have already passed us! It's going to be a lovely afternoon, and we'll make it to Nottingham by nightfall exactly as planned." Marian gestured out of the window as she spoke, pointing at the clouds that, Ann had to concede, had passed them by a half hour ago. She turned to face her wife, whose eyebrows had skyrocketed.

"Do you seriously believe that I could miss some obvious weather pattern, sister dear? Perhaps if we were on the coast already, I would be less certain. But this is still Yorkshire. It will rain, I promise you that." Marian protested, but Ann tuned them out then, focusing down on her book, a French poetry volume that Anne wanted her to get through. Sure enough, the weather turned sour quickly, and they were forced into Sheffield by the slippery roads. The way Marian glared at Anne, as though it was her sister's fault the weather had turned so quickly, made Ann feel almost sorry for her wife. 

  
"No, you see Marian, the rules are you have to think of an animal that begins with the next letter of the alphabet. Yiddock is the name of a very specific horse, owned by Harley Thompson down at Luddenden. It is not the name of an animal." Ann took a sip of her tea to hide her sigh. The game had been her idea, and she was just thankful they'd made it as far as they did without any major disagreement. Their morning had been plesant enough until that point, though they started the second part of their journey far too early for Ann.

"Well, technically, it is the name of an animal. A horse is an animal. It's the name of a horse." Marian tilted her head with a smirk. "So I should think it counts."

"That's not how it works. You have to name the species of the animal."

"But that's not how the rules were defined."

"I should think it was obvious how the rules were-"

"Well, why not let Ann decide the rules. It is, after all, her game." Ann's blood went cold. The last thing she wanted was to get in the middle of their arguments. Yet, the pair turned to her, expressions eerily similar. Arms crossed, single eyebrow raised.

"I-um. Well, I...do not think it matters one way or the other to be perfectly candid. It is just a game, isn't it?" Anne hmmphed, but they let it go.

"Then it's your turn." Marian prompted, smiling wide. She thought for a minute.

"Zebra." She replied, thankfully ending the game and, hopefully, earning her a little bit of peace.  
  


"What should we do, do you think? When we get to Brighton?" Ann whispered to her wife. Marian had fallen asleep sometime near Slough, and after the fiasco that was the thermos, the carriage cushions and a particularly large pothole as they came though London, she privately thought it was better for all three of them that she enjoyed her nap.

"Well, I shall of course write to Aunt immediately, letting her know that we are safely there, despite someone's best efforts." Anne cast a glance towards her sister, and Ann fought back a giggle.

"Well, yes, but I mean afterwards. Do you think it will be busy?" Anne paused for a moment, thinking.

"I don't believe it should be. Though the weather has been rather unseasonably warm recently, it is still early in the year."

"I hope it's not busy. I should like to swim. I haven't swam since I was a child."

"Really?" Anne said, loud in her suprise. Ann glanced at Marian, but she appeared still asleep. "My dear Ann, it is marvalous, you simply must. It can be so invigorating, the sea, you'll love it." Ann smiled at the brunette.

"Well then, you must join me."

"Perhaps I will at that." Her voice lowered, she leaned closer to Ann's ear. "Perhaps I'll show you just how _invigorating_ the sea can really be." Ann felt her cheeks flush, her mouth went dry.

"I think I'd like that."

"Well, you can go without me." Marian said. The pair sprang back, thoughh the woman's eyes were still closed and she hadn't moved a muscle. "I won't be seen parading around in the sea like some child." Ann bit her tongue to hold back her sigh.

  
She didn't disklike Marian, not at all. The younger Miss Lister was lovely, welcoming, always treated her as a friend. They got on splendidly, when they were without Anne. It was how the two sisters interacted that drove Ann up the wall and, well, she couldn't really disagree with Anne even if she wanted to. But even the all knowing Anne Lister sometimes didn't know when to quit.

"Will you both please stop this?" She finally burst out. Ann couldn't even remember what the squabbles were about anymore, though she guessed it was why the blinds of the carriage seemed to be tied to the handle. "We aren't even technically on holiday yet, and you two are behaving like we never left Shibden. Honestly, if I'd had know how terribly you were going to treat each other, I wouldn't have bothered suggesting such a trip!" Blood pounded in her head, and she knew her face was flushed. It wasn't like her to lose her temper.

"Ann-" Her wife's hand came to rest on her arm, but she flinched.

"I want you both to apologise to each other." The pair shared a look. Marian opened her mouth, but didn't say anything. "Both of you are my friends," She heard Anne's quiet scoff, but ignored it in favour of continuing. "You are." She insisted. "And you're family for goodness sake! You don't need to please each other all the time, heaven knows that's not going to happen. But please, just try? Because this is so exhausting to watch, I can't imagine what it's like for you." She watched, and waited, and eventually Marian spoke.

"I'm...sorry, Anne." She glanced at her elder sister, then looked towards the floor of the carriage. "I don't like arguing any more than you do."  
"Thank you." Anne replied. A sharp look from both Marian and Ann made her sigh heavily. "I'm sorry as well. I often...forget to consider that you might have feelings too." Marian then turned to Ann.

"We are, both of us, sorry to you as well. We bicker so much it's easy to forget that you might find it frustrating." Ann nodded, smiling softly. She looked up at her wife, who said nothing, but wore a half smile and offered her a shrug.

"Does this mean we can have the blinds up?" She said to Marian, who rolled her eyes.

"In this heat, we're as likely to burn as not! Keep it down." Ann cleared her throat. "Please." Marian tacked on at the end, after a glance at the blonde. Anne nodded without replying. Ann smiled at her wife.  
  
Maybe they'd have a good holiday afterall. And Anne had promised to go swimming with her...


End file.
